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Judge dismisses landowner lawsuit against Dakota Access

A trio of excavators move earth along the Dakota Access pipeline route east of Williston in late July. photo by Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald

BISMARCK — A lawsuit filed by almost two dozen Morton County landowners who alleged Dakota Access made “numerous misrepresentations” when negotiating easements along the oil pipeline’s route was dismissed by a federal judge this week.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland's order, filed Tuesday, Oct. 10, said the plaintiffs weren't specific in their claims of fraud, such as when the fraudulent statements were made and the names of people who made them.

"The lack of specificity makes responding to the allegation nothing more than a guessing game for the defendants and does not allow them to answer in an intelligent fashion," Hovland wrote.

The lawsuit was filed against Dakota Access in early January. Contract Land Staff, a firm hired by Dakota Access to negotiate easements, was added as a defendant a few weeks later.

The $3.8 billion pipeline running from western North Dakota to Illinois began service this summer.

John Hageman covers North Dakota politics from the Forum News Service bureau in Bismarck. He attended the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, where he studied journalism and political science, and he previously worked at the Grand Forks Herald and Bemidji Pioneer.